Pro-life pregnancy centers still awaiting justice 3 years after firebombing, vandalism spree

The FBI has yet to solve at least five cases it opened into arson attacks targeting pro-life pregnancy centers in 2022, according to an investigation by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Biden FBI offered cash rewards in 2022 for information on suspects responsible for firebombings around the country, mainly directed at pro-life facilities, after the preemptive May 2 leak of a Supreme Court ruling that overturned the abortion precedent established by Roe v. Wade. Five local FBI field offices told the DCNF that the bureau is still offering the incentive for cases in Colorado, North Carolina, Washington state, Oregon and New York, indicating suspects were never found or convicted.

The FBI’s Seattle field office told the DCNF that it’s typical for the bureau to update or delete the bulletins asking the public for information if suspects are caught, and if they’re on the website, the FBI is still looking for answers. The FBI’s national press office did not respond to a request for comment.

‘Enforce The Law Equally’

One targeted facility’s CEO, Jim Harden, told the DCNF he got a phone call from an employee around two in the morning on June 7, 2022, that changed his life. The Amherst, New York, building that was home to his organization CompassCare was set ablaze in what was eventually determined to be arson. The FBI released footage showing what it said were two suspects arriving in a car at night and throwing Molotov cocktails at the building.

Harden’s team had been on high alert that summer, having already contacted the FBI over concerns about a heightened risk of violence. Soon after the fire, he moved with his wife and children to flee an onslaught of threats against them as extremists lashed out at CompassCare, a Christian nonprofit providing free medical care to pregnant mothers to steer them away from abortion.

“Our lives are very different now,” he said in an interview with the DCNF. “We had to relocate our family … we had people riding past our house pointing guns at our kids.”

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said in April that there were more than 200 cases of pregnancy resource centers “violently attacked by activists with no action by law enforcement, federal or state” in the past several years. Family Research Council documented almost 50 instances of vandalism and other attacks on pregnancy centers and pro-life organization buildings from May through June 2022.

“I can say we are taking them seriously now and will be for the duration,” Dhillon told the DCNF about such cases. Dillon declined to comment about any specific prosecutions that may be ongoing or forthcoming.

“This Department of Justice is committed to protecting crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life organizations and places of worship from targeted acts of violence and will work to ensure justice is served to criminals who engage in this unlawful behavior,” a DOJ spokesperson said in response to questions about the unsolved cases.

The spree of violence even resulted in arson at a Portland pregnancy center run by a self-professed pro-choice woman in July 2022. As in the five cases involving pro-life groups, the FBI told the DCNF it is still offering a reward for information. The Dobbs opinion leak, which was investigated but never solved, also inspired an assassination attempt on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh near his home.

The Portland facility did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The other pregnancy centers with unsolved cases in Longmont, Colorado and Portland did not respond to multiple requests for comment, while one in Seattle declined to comment.

Harden, the CompassCare CEO, said the pro-abortion Biden administration seemed apathetic about solving the cases, despite the FBI interviewing him about the Amherst bombing. He recalled reaching out and asking urgently for updates, leading to a moment when he said an FBI agent “was screaming” over the phone that the bureau was not required to update him.

“Their job was to enforce the law equally,  and it did not appear as if they were doing so,” Harden said.

‘Mountain Of Evidence’

While announcements about pro-abortion vandalism cases were scarce, the Biden administration boasted in press releases about several prosecutions of pro-life activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for protesting at abortion clinics. On his first week in office, President Donald Trump pardoned nearly two dozen pro-lifers accused of federal crimes.

Former Attorney General Merrick Garland explained the discrepancy in March 2023 by telling Congress that “it is quite easy” to identify and charge pro-lifers protesting in daylight.

“Those who are attacking the pregnancy resources centers, which is a hard thing to do, are doing this at night in the dark,” Garland said.

Harden did not — and does not — buy Garland’s explanation whatsoever.

“There’s a mountain of evidence,” Harden said of the vandals, noting that the authorities can search for license plate numbers, body mechanic imagery and cell phone IP addresses. “It’s just not possible they don’t know who they are. The FBI [is] the most technically advanced law enforcement agency on the planet.”

Some attacks on pro-life centers in 2022 were linked to a leftist group called Jane’s Revenge, with activists posting online threats in response to news about the leaked Dobbs decision. The FBI said the CompassCare vandals left the spray-painted message, “Jane was here.”

Harden told the DCNF his Amherst building was repaired at “miraculous” speed in 52 days thanks in part to volunteer workers, but the damage cost millions of dollars.

The attack inspired Harden to become more outspoken about political issues via media interviews. He also launched a campaign on a pro-life platform to fill Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik’s House seat in a New York special election. Stefanik announced she would remain in her role in April after Trump pulled her nomination to represent the U.S. in the United Nations.

‘Heart Problem’

Paula McSwain, executive director of the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Lincolnton, North Carolina, told the DCNF she received a letter from the FBI in August 2024 saying its investigation into arson at her building in June 2022 was closed. Surveillance footage showed someone at nighttime throwing what the FBI said was a Molotov cocktail.

The Lincolnton case is one of several for which the FBI is still offering a reward for information on any suspects, according to the bureau’s Charlotte field office.

McSwain said she was fortunate enough to get the pregnancy center up and running fairly easily.

“If they wanted to destroy the building, they could have done a better job,” McSwain told the DCNF.

The pro-life leader decided to respond to her ordeal by limiting public outcry.

“That’s what they were seeking, was attention,” McSwain said of the vandals.

Harden and McSwain said that if they could give any message to their attackers, it would be one of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

“If you throw fire at any building, you’ve got a heart problem and there’s something not right with your life … We don’t seek revenge, we just pray for them,” McSwain said.

“The only reason I can forgive you is because forgiveness has been made available to me, and so I would encourage you to come out of the darkness and into the light,” Harden said his words to the criminals would be.

“Nothing is going to go unpunished if it’s sin,” Harden said.

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